Saints gear up for Mile High challenge

DENVER -- Saints Coach Sean Payton poked some fun this week at the typical kind of roller-coaster response that most NFL teams get from the media and the fan base.

"In this league, it's always a carnival or a crisis, and there's never anything in between," he said.

Payton isn't ready to push the panic button just yet, even though his team suffered its first loss of the season in rather ugly fashion last week, coughing up a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter at Washington.

But he will admit he's interested in seeing how the Saints (1-1) respond with a difficult test looming this afternoon at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High.

"We're going to have to be sharp. We're going to have to play well. We can't turn the ball over. We're going to have to tackle better. We're going to have to do a better job offensively on third downs," Payton said. "But we look forward to the challenge."

The Broncos (2-0) might be the hottest team in the NFL. They have the league's top-ranked offense, and no team has been better at home during the past 14 years.

Denver is 80-52 at home since 1995. During that span, the Broncos are a league-best 22-4 at home in September. They've won 11 of their past 12 home games during September.

"I think it's just that Mile High mystique a little bit. But it's also because they're a good team," said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who made the annual trip to Denver when he was with the AFC West-rival San Diego Chargers.

Brees went 0-3 as a starter at Denver, and the Chargers were 0-5 during his tenure in San Diego.

"It has a reputation, and I think those guys take pride in it," Brees said. "They play well at home."

Brees was one of several Saints who said Denver's mile-high altitude and thin air is definitely a factor visiting players need to be aware of -- the key is to stay hydrated and take deep breaths, they said. But it's not an overwhelming concern.

"Just getting used to it in the course of a 24-hour period is an adjustment, but I think once the game gets going and once you get rolling, I don't think you think about it a whole lot," Brees said.

Even more intimidating might be the Broncos' offense. Third-year quarterback Jay Cutler leads the NFL with 650 yards passing and is tied for first in the league with six touchdowns.

Among his versatile array of offensive weapons is third-year receiver Brandon Marshall, who threatened Terrell Owens' NFL record of 20 catches in a game with 18 for 166 yards against the Chargers last week.

"It's a big challenge, no question. It's a very big test to see where we're at in all three phases, offense, defense and special teams," said Saints fullback Mike Karney, who also welcomed the challenge.

"It's important to go against good teams like this," Karney said. "It's important to have these games. It's good to see where you're at, how much you have progressed and where you need to go from here.

"We had a setback last week, but it's important for us to have closure on it, which we did on Monday, and move onto this game."

One of the Saints' top goals heading into this season was to get off to a fast start after sabotaging themselves with an 0-4 start in 2007.

The Week 1 victory against Tampa Bay was nice. But now the Saints need to prove that they are able to bounce back from early adversity -- something they failed to do last season.

"It's almost a . . . I don't want to say 'must win,' because that's not what it is," Brees said. "But it's a mentality of, 'We're going to go out and give it our absolute best performance, and we're not leaving anything to chance and let's see what we're all about.' This is one of those games."

The Saints have fared well in those types of games in recent years. For every time they've fallen flat against less-heralded opponents such as the Redskins, they've played "up to the competition" in marquee matchups.

The Saints won defining showdowns against Philadelphia and at Dallas in 2006. Payton said last year's long-awaited first victory at Seattle on national television was another one of those big-game tests.

"We have (responded), yet this is a different team," Payton said. "It's different than '07 or '06. It's a different makeup, the roster is different. So I'm anxious to see how this team responds."

Saints defensive end Will Smith said he likes this team's mindset even better than some of those past teams, and he doesn't worry that one bad loss can knock the team off its track.

Cornerback Mike McKenzie said if anything, the bad taste from last Sunday has the Saints more eager to play this afternoon's game.

"I'm looking forward to this game and everybody else in this locker room is looking forward to this game," tailback Reggie Bush said. "I love the fact that it's in Denver. It's a hostile environment. It just adds energy to the game.

"I think it will show. I think we'll rise to the occasion."

Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.